Raiders's DeAngelo Hall acknowledges the crowd at the beginning of team introductions. Oakland Raiders played the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football at the McAfee Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, September 8, 2008. less

Raiders's DeAngelo Hall acknowledges the crowd at the beginning of team introductions. Oakland Raiders played the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football at the McAfee Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, ... more

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

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Kon Weber, a UC Berkeley sophomore economics major, picks up a watercolor by Christian Kruck that he will borrow from the university on Tuesday, September 2, 2008. UC Berkeley has revived a program which allows students, faculty and staff to borrow original framed art for up to a year. They can take the pieces home and have them for the entire year for free. The 700-piece collection includes many well know artists. They used to even loan out Picasso, Rembrandt and Matisse back when the program first started. It has been dormant since the 80s and they are now bringing it back. less

Kon Weber, a UC Berkeley sophomore economics major, picks up a watercolor by Christian Kruck that he will borrow from the university on Tuesday, September 2, 2008. UC Berkeley has revived a program which allows ... more

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

Image 3 of 4

Alex Warren, director of UC Berkeley's Graphic Arts Loan Collection, holds a piece by Mexican artist, Juana Alicia, which is going to be picked up in the Morrison Library on Tuesday, September 2, 2008. UC Berkeley has revived a program which allows students, faculty and staff to borrow original framed art for up to a year. They can take the pieces home and have them for the entire year for free. The 700-piece collection includes many well know artists. They used to even loan out Picasso, Rembrandt and Matisse back when the program first started. It has been dormant since the 80s and they are now bringing it back. less

Alex Warren, director of UC Berkeley's Graphic Arts Loan Collection, holds a piece by Mexican artist, Juana Alicia, which is going to be picked up in the Morrison Library on Tuesday, September 2, 2008. UC ... more

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

Image 4 of 4

After rough start, Hall ready to battle

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Raiders cornerback DeAngelo Hall wants all the world to know he's going to be OK. There are no treadmarks peeled across his back, no second-degree burns scarring his front, no skin grafts needed to repair his ego.

Hall said he's doing just fine after being the primary victim of Monday's season-opening 41-14 crushing via rookie receiver Eddie Royal (nine catches, 146 yards) and the Broncos.

"One of my coaches told me I didn't play angry," Hall said. "I told him, 'Well, I'm angry now.' Just go out there ready to fight, play the way I play and that's aggressive, 100 miles an hour.

"Let the penalties fall as they may."

That's DeAngelo Hall in a nutshell.

With 17 interceptions in four seasons, he's spectacular enough to have made two Pro Bowls. His 308 interception return yards since 2005 is tops among NFL cornerbacks.

With personal fouls on consecutive plays covering Royal, he's dynamite enough to blow up in the middle of any game gone bad. This is a guy who drew three personal fouls on a single drive covering Panthers receiver Steve Smith.

He's a dynamic spectacle to watch, and Hall doesn't mind that everyone's staring.

"I've got thick skin," Hall said. "You can point all the fingers at me, it's cool with me. I've got the spotlight on me. It's not on me the way I wanted it to be but it's on me.

"Now I can come out and make some plays and do what I do."

Teammates love Hall because he has their back, even if that means calling out the coach or front office on their behalf.

Former Falcons teammates Michael Vick and Grady Jackson found out about Hall's loyalty. He stood up for the former when he was arrested in connection with a dogfighting business and defended the latter when the team cut him in midseason.

"He's a good teammate," said Raiders fullback Justin Griffith, who played with Hall in Atlanta from 2004-06. "I like him."

Opposing players can't stand him because, well, he can be a little colorful and talkative out there. Just listen to Raiders retiree Warren Sapp, who now works for the NFL Network and Showtime.

"DeAngelo Hall has been getting burnt since he was in Atlanta," Sapp said in a conference call last week. "DeAngelo Hall is the flashiest burnt-up corner ever in the history of the game. I mean, he gets burnt more than anybody else, and he all of the sudden is this great Pro Bowl cover corner.

"I never saw that in DeAngelo Hall."

Well, Raiders owner Al Davis does. That's why he traded for him, giving the Falcons a second-round draft pick in April and a fifth-rounder next year. He then gave Hall a seven-year, $70 million contract with $24.55 million guaranteed.

Raiders defensive coordinator Rob Ryan believes in him, too, and told everyone to lay off. If Hall was exposed against the Broncos, Ryan said it was because he was calling a bad scheme that left Hall playing soft as a "deep third player."

"That game that he had, it wasn't near as bad as people want it to be," Ryan said. "You say it was all him and it wasn't. Bottom line is, he's a super talented guy and damn good player.